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"Seqirus Media Monitoring" 28th May 2019

Seqirus mentions
Brexit: Threat to vaccinations under no-deal, flu jab supplier warns
A hard Brexit on October 31 could cause huge disruption to the UK’s flu vaccination programme, one of Britain’s largest jab suppliers has warned. Sanofi said that the disruption could put thousands in hospital, leading to “huge” financial costs for the NHS. Hugo Fry, Sanofi’s UK managing director, lamented “the interminable wait” for Westminster to decide the nature and timing of Britain’s departure. October 31 is “right when people are getting vaccinated”, he added, explaining that most patients do so between mid-September and the end of the year. Boris Johnson has indicated that Brexit would take place in October, “deal or no deal”, if he won the race for the Tory leadership. Sanofi is one of the three biggest suppliers of flu vaccines in Britain, alongside Seqirus and Mylan
Industry News

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Pandemic Influenza News

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Academic studies
St. Jude studies flu's effect in infancy on lifelong immune system
If a person gets the flu as a child, it could have lasting implications for their immune system for the rest of their life. Researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital are embarking on a seven-year effort spanning four countries to find out if that’s definitively true. “A big question in the field right now is whether there are long-term effects from flu,” said Dr. Paul Thomas, a member in the St. Jude Department of Immunology who is leading the study. “The idea there is, these immunological imprints can last for your entire life.”
Pediatric influenza news
Three children have now died. The choice to receive the flu vaccine isn’t just about you
Three children have died from influenza this year. They were aged three, six, and 11 years of age. They died, in Australia, from an illness for which there is a freely available vaccination. The children are amongst the 26 victims in Victoria whose deaths have been attributed to contracting the flu in 2019. The other 23 people were aged care residents. In South Australia, 27 people have died, and in Queensland, 25.
Over 65’s influenza news
Australians urged to get pneumonia vaccine
Australians over the age of 65 or at high risk of infection are being urged to become immunised against pneumonia, one of the top 10 killers in the country. Prof Booy says pneumonia and the flu can "hunt together", as most people carry the bacteria that causes pneumococcal pneumonia in their throat. "The flu could damage the lining of the throat and allow the quietly sitting dragon to wake up and start destroying."
General Influenza News
Is it better to get a flu shot from a doctor or at a pharmacy?
With Australia on track for a killer flu season, families, schools and workplaces are heeding the advice of experts and organising their influenza vaccinations early. Michael Clements, a GP and spokesperson for the Australia Medical Association Queensland, said there is a difference between the flu vaccines you pay for, and those that are free. Dr Clements said the best vaccine is the free one offered by the Government to those who are eligible — that is, people aged over 65, under the age of five, and those with chronic illnesses. These vaccines are considered superior by doctors because they are specially purchased by the Government to meet the specific needs of those groups
Flu deaths 2019 Australia: Three influenza strains causing deadly flu season
In Australia, the circulation of three different strains of influenza, one which hits children hard, is likely to blame for the unprecedented and deadly start to the flu season, says a leading infectious disease expert. Health authorities have urged parents and carers to vaccinate their kids, as the death toll from the flu outbreak rises. The latest figures show there have been nearly 59,000 laboratory confirmed notifications of influenza in Australia for 2019, while close to 100 deaths have been recorded across NSW, South Australia and Victoria.
Vaccine shortage as flu season hits
In Australia, hospitals are struggling to cope with the record numbers of flu cases and there is a shortage of vaccination supplies. South Australia has been particularly badly affected by the flu outbreak, and now some clinics are experiencing flu vaccine shortages
Territorians urged to protect themselves against flu
In Australia, Territorians are being urged to protect themselves against the flu this season with vaccinations available through your GP, community clinic or pharmacy. As noted by the Minister for Health, Natasha Fyles: "Vaccination is especially important for people at higher risk of serious influenza complications and for people who live with or care for high risk individuals including health care workers and those working in aged care facilities, but I encourage everyone to be vaccinated"
Blood donors needed as flu takes toll
In Australia, an early start to the cold and flu season has taken a heavy toll on blood donations, with the Red Cross issuing an urgent appeal for help from healthy Aussies. The Red Cross Blood Service needs 5,900 additional people to give blood over the next fortnight, with up to 1,400 donors cancelling their appointments each day due to illness. People can still donate blood if they've had the flu shot.
Keep your family healthier this winter
The best way to keep your family healthy is to get a flu shot. In Australia, free flu shots are available for pregnant women, children under five years old, Aboriginal people, children and adults with serious medical conditions, and people aged 65 years and over. A flu shot is safe for everyone over six months and it does not give you the flu.
Record deaths predicted for 2019 flu season puts the morality of vaccination in the spotlight
Experts predict 4000 Australians will die from influenza in 2019 after an unprecedented start to the flu season claimed 25 lives in Queensland. The Immunisation Coalition Australia said almost 40,000 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza had occurred this year, with about 10,000 of those reported in Queensland. Queensland businesses and organisations, including the Archdiocese of Brisbane, have provided free vaccinations for staff in an attempt to curb the number of flu cases. Brisbane archdiocese’s Work Health and Safety director Sue Lloyd said there were a number of benefits for companies to immunise staff.
Big myth around the flu shot
It looks increasingly likely this will be one of Australia’s worst flu seasons on record, yet despite the potentially deadly consequences, some people still refuse to be vaccinated. Last year, half of Aussies admitted they had no plans to get a flu shot, with a bizarre misconception fuelling many of these decisions. The main reason people didn’t get the jab in 2018 was because they believed it made them sick, according to a Finder.com.au survey of over 2000 people.
Burden of disease
SA’s flu death toll hits 35, 70 care facilities restricted
South Australia’s flu toll is rapidly overtaking the year’s horrific road toll with 35 people now dead and visitation to 70 care facilities restricted. SA Health expert Dr Louise Flood has appealed to doubters in the community stressing the need for flu vaccination and assuring people they cannot become sick when injected with the vaccine. “There have been another eight deaths in the past week,’’ she said on Monday. “That brings us to 35 deaths this year, one adolescent, and the majority older people.
Flu activity downgraded to ‘local’ in state
In Connecticut, flu activity in the state has been downgraded to “local,” as the season continues to wind down. The state Department of Public Health also reported that there were no new flu-related deaths. In its weekly flu report, released Thursday, the state said that, as of May 18, flu activity had been downgraded to local, from “regional” the previous week. Regional means that there are outbreaks of flu or increases in flu-like illnesses in at least two, but less than half the regions of the state. Local means flu activity is limited to a single region of the state.
New Cases in Flu Outbreak Among Immigrant Detainees Transferred From Texas to San Diego
Outbreak of influenza among undocumented immigrants San Diego Texas detention appears to be dwindling, though new cases have been reported. In addition, county health officials Sunday reported one new case of flu-like symptoms. That brings to 32 the number of immigrants displaying symptoms at a downtown shelter since dozens began arriving daily last week from a federal facility in McAllen, Texas, where a 16-year-old Guatemalan boy recently died of the flu while in federal custody.
Till now, 7 succumb to swine flu in May across Raj
In Rajastan, cases of swine flu have taken a significant dip in the state but the danger still lurks. In the past 24 days, seven persons have died of the disease, while 28 fresh cases have been reported from different parts of the state.
Epidemic and emerging disease alerts in the Pacific as of 27 May 2019 - World
Influenza activity in Fiji: From Jan 01-May 15, 2019, 40 cases of influenza A/H1, 13 cases of Influenza A/H3 and 48 cases of Influenza B were reported; Influenza B Victoria lineage has been detected in 4 influenza B cases. Influenza activity in the Republic of the Marshall Islands: ILI exceeded the threshold at the beginning of May and a health alert for ILI has been declared on May 9, 2019.
Flu Surveillance in Animals

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